Story narrated by mother.
Our family lives in a very remote mountainous village. My husband became disabled due to an accident. My family borrowed a large sum of money to have the father treated at the time our children were both going to school. When the accident happened to my husband, due to the extreme financial difficulty, our children discontinued school. Our family was categorized as “Extreme Poverty” family, nevertheless the subsidy we received was meager. The subsidy could not even cover the school supplies for our children. My husband's eyesight suffered severely after the accident. In addition where we live was so mountainous and isolated, we did not let my husband to work in the field. Therefore the income was very unstable. Especially this year, because of the weather our harvest was not even half as last year.

Because of the financial situation, our children have never worn any clothes without patches. They wear nothing but hand-me-downs. They only have one new outfit per year. When they were still younger, they did not quite understand and often beg for new clothes. Later when they saw all the cracks on my hands, they felt so bad and regretful. Since the accident, i (mom) had to go out to find work and also take care of all of us. Our children always wonder why other children can have their mom home with them all the time whereas they only had their dad home. For some years, they have never seen anyone as hardworking as their mom. I work in the field and also needs to go out of the village to find work. I spend very little on food and boarding as possible and try to save every single penny so i can have enough to cover my children's school fees. In addition i also keep pigs in the hope of earning a bit more money.

My older son later had to make the tough decision of discontinuing school as he observed how hard i work. At the time he was only into his last term year in ordinary level for secondary school. I did not want to see that happen and i told him:”Son, please continue the school. I will do whatever I can to support your schooling.” My son could not bear to have me work alone to support the whole family and therefore quit school. In the most recent year, i stopped going out to work as my husband's health condition is worsening. I toil in the soil for the whole day. My heart aches when I see my children's exhausted faces. They do not want to see me labor so much and they hope they can give me a better life. I constantly feel guilty of not being able to make enough money to support my children's schooling. My elder son quit school before his adulthood. Though he wants to find work to support family, no place would hire him because of his age. All he could do is working in the field and waiting to be 18 years old. I feel so helpless as no matter how hard we work, there seems barely enough money to cover basic living and school fees. There was no surplus to pay back the debt we borrowed a few years ago at all. All I wish is for my children to study hard. Therefore they can have a better life so they do not have to suffer so much.

Thank you for reading my story.